MONSTERS CLIPPED BY ROADRUNNERS IN Overtime

TUCSON, AZ - The Cleveland Monsters, proud American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, were defeated in overtime by the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday at Tucson Convention Center Arena in Tucson, AZ by a final score of 3-2. With the overtime loss, the Monsters are now 5-3-2-0 overall this season and with a .600 points percentage, currently remain alone in third place in the AHL's Central Division standings.

For the second consecutive game, the Roadrunners struck first when Mike Sislo gave Tucson a 1-0 lead at even-strength at 6:07 of the opening frame. In the second, Cleveland's Miles Koules leveled the score at even-strength thanks to feeds from Calvin Thurkauf and Brady Austin at 7:36, but the Roadrunners claimed a 2-1 edge with a Nick Merkley power-play goal at 9:08. The Monsters battled back to equalize yet again, though, as Sam Vigneault posted an extra-man tally at 10:30 of the middle stanza, on feeds from Dean Kukan and Carter Camper, to make it 2-2 heading into the third period.

A scoreless final frame gave way to a three-on-three overtime period, during which Merkley took advantage of a Monsters turnover at 1:34 to deliver Tucson a 3-2 victory with his second marker of the contest. Cleveland goaltender Brad Thiessen fell to 4-1-1 this season despite a 23-save showing while Roadrunners net-minder Hunter Miska improved to 4-0-0 between the pipes this year by virtue of a 21-save performance.

Next up for the Monsters, it's a Saturday road clash vs. the Iowa Wild with full coverage, live from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA, underway at 8:00 pm on 99X and the Monsters Hockey Network.

Full and partial season ticket memberships are on sale now and provide you with the best seat locations, custom member benefits and the lowest ticket prices starting at only $10 per game. Group outing and birthday bash packages for 10 or more people are also on sale now. All tickets can be purchased by visiting ClevelandMonsters.com, calling (216) 420-0000, visiting The Q Box Office or any Northern Ohio Discount Drug Mart. Be sure to follow the Monsters on Twitter @monstershockey, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/monstershockey, and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/monstershockey .

The Cleveland Monsters are part of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena organization and also owned by a group led by Cavaliers Majority Owner and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert. The group also owns and operates the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League playing at Quicken Loans Arena and the Canton Charge of the NBA G League playing in nearby Canton, Ohio at the Canton Civic Center.